The move is roughly two years away and currently only has a director and many rumors. After seeing Iron Man 2, I wanted to discuss the subtle hints that the film provided that could (or could not) lead into The Avengers movie. For those that don’t know and didn’t click on any of my links above, The Avengers is a superhero team in the same way that the Justice League is for DC. The Avengers have been formed with many different heroes, but which group will be selected for the feature film? Well my assumptions are going to be based off small rumors and everything I saw in Iron Man 2. Therefore, STOP NOW if you want to avoid even the mildest of SPOILERS.

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Ok, now that we have those that don’t want to know out of the way, we can continue. In Iron Man 2, Nick Fury and Tony Stark are discussing his review for possible team involvement thanks to the Black Widow’s report. The report states that Iron Man is in, but Tony is out. Interesting, but my real focus of the scene was the monitor behind them with several points being tracked around the world. I was only able to remember the following subset of locations.

New York

New Mexico

Los Angeles

Atlantic Ocean

Africa

South Atlantic Ocean / Antartica

Central Europe

Well, if I’m doing what most other fanboys are doing out there in fandom, I’m matching a location to a member of the Avengers.

New York – Most might jump to Spider-Man here. I certainly did. However, the Spider-Man franchise is not currently in Marvel’s possession. However, the Hulk is and he just happened to star in a recent reboot of the franchise and it took place in…yes…say it…New York. I’m all for The Hulk as a member of the Avengers but I like him even more as the villain. A hero that can’t control his powers, I believe, might provide more drama and story than some alien beings being sent to destroy/take over the earth. Apparently Iron Man 2 is already helping out in continuity because in the background of the scene between Tony and Nick, a news report is being given of the attack at the university that appeared in The Incredible Hulk.

New Mexico – If you stayed through the credits of Iron Man 2, you already know the answer to this one. The scene showed that S.H.I.E.L.D. had found Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir. Thor, a norse god, is one, if not, the strongest heroes on earth. If Thor isn’t happy, no one is happy. I’m pumped for this one as Thor is a very intriguing character and his movie is lining up to be something special as well.

Los Angeles – Easy one, Iron Man. I mean, the man lives in Malibu. Let’s just take Nick’s comments as more of a way to push Tony forward as a hero and not the fact that Marvel can’t pay for all of these heroes together.

Atlantic Ocean – This must be the one and only “first avenger,” Captain America. Iron Man 2 gave us his first shield as well as the possibility of Iron Man creating the element for creating his new shield. In the comics, Cap’s frozen body was found somewhere in the North Pole or northern Atlantic ocean. Marvel’s ultimate goal was to do Iron Man 2, Captain America, Thor and then The Avengers. Therefore, we have to have Cap to lead the team. Time to see what a real boy scout can do.

Africa – Another no brainer of sorts. We will stay away from Storm or the X-Men due to a separate franchise and Marvel wanting to build on their “less known” characters. This choice also gives us a more diverse group with the inclusion of Black Panther. Many in Hollywood (Tyrese Gibson and Wesley Snipes) have been trying to get a Black Panther film off the ground for years. I’ll support the inclusion here.

South Atlantic Ocean / Antartica – Here’s the stretch because I gaurantee most people don’t know who he is and when I describe him, I’ll get the usual response of “That’s just an Aquaman rip off.” We are talking about the prince of Atlantis, Namor. Namor is one of the first mutants/heroes from Marvel. He is often depicted as a villain as he chooses his people of Atlantis over those on land every day of the week if he can. Just think of him as good cop/bad cop, but the good cop always calls in sick.

Central Europe – For this one I had to turn to the internet. Some are pointing to the Red Skull, but I’m not thrilled with that idea. Why spend a whole Captain America move on Red Skull only to bring him back so quickly to face the Avengers? No. This one needs to be something new. A female? We have the Black Widow, but her background is Russia not Central Europe and why would S.H.I.E.L.D. need to track her? Then again, I listed Iron Man on this list and they are tracking him. Then I guess I have to go after my final long shot with two “originals,” Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch. Both can be linked back to Central Europe in some form or fashion so they will have to do.

Well that’s it. Not the best team I could pick but then again I don’t have to do the picking. I’d really like to see a team of maybe 5 (Iron Man, Thor, Cap, Hawkeye, Black Widow) so that each can be built in his/her own right. I don’t want characters lost and thrown in just for the purpose of being there, but I would really love to see Hawkeye being portrayed by Jeremy Renner.